Attorney General Michael Mukasey vowed anew Thursday to crack down on crooked politicians and public officials, dismissing critics who accuse the Justice Department of letting partisan loyalties interfere with corruption cases.Democrat-leaning? Good grief. Hello! He's a Barack Obama superdelgate, for crying out loud.
Mukasey's comments came hours after prosecutors charged Puerto Rico's Democratic-leaning governor in a campaign finance probe that began more than two years ago.
Additionally, Mukasey said that a multibillion-dollar overseas contracting loophole that was quietly slipped into Justice Department plans to protect taxpayers' money "shouldn't happen."
All were part of the attorney general's rhetorical assault on public corruption, which he called one of his top priorities.
Seriously though, to be fair, there are more than enough crooked Republicans littering the trail in recent years, and I have nothing but contempt for them as well.
The Justice Department has brought numerous corruption cases over the last several years targeting Democrats and Republicans alike. In 2006, the latest data available, Justice prosecutors charged nearly 1,200 federal, state and local government employees in public integrity cases — a 20 percent increase from a decade ago.
During his speech, Mukasey pointedly spoke of charges brought against two former Republican congressmen: Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California and Bob Ney of Ohio. He did not mention charges brought hours earlier against Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila, who faces 19 counts in a campaign finance probe. Twelve others associated with Acevedo's Popular Democratic Party also were indicted Thursday.
Other high-profile lawmakers facing Justice Department charges include Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., in a land scam case, and Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., for allegedly taking bribes. Also under scrutiny by the FBI or congressional investigators are at least eight current House and Senate lawmakers. Democrat Eliot Spitzer resigned as New York's governor earlier this month after a federal wiretap caught him arranging trysts with a prostitute.
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